Questions to consider before purchasing your promotional merchandise

Planning is essential
It is too easy to assume that little thought needs to be given to promotional merchandise, when in fact a great deal of planning and consideration should go into the decision-making involved in selecting the right materials to give away. It is important to carry out some research into what makes successful promotional material before deciding what to go for. To get the most out of the merchandise you decide to give away, you should give yourself as much time as possible to choose something that will work well for you and your business.

Ask yourself some important questions
You may want to ask yourself some questions before deciding what promotional gifts you will be giving away. They may help you to avoid placing a large order for material that you later find to be useless.

Practical use for your customer
You might want to consider a product that holds some use for the potential customer, so ask yourself if they may need the product. Will your potential customers use the item you have given them for them to see your image and your company’s brand on a regular enough basis that it might impact on them enough to use you. The worst case scenario is that they see your product as a useless item that will sit in the back of their drawer, and so instead it is cast away and never seen again. The quality and purposefulness of the items you choose are essential.

Would you like to receive something like this
You may want to think about whether you would like the product if it was given to you. Would you enjoy receiving the item or would it inconvenience you. Would it be an item you would be quite pleased to have because it holds some use to you or would you simply throw it away? Whatever your response is to the product, you can assume that your customers will respond in the same way.

The important message you want to convey
When you choose a product, think about whether they represent the image you wish to convey. rnDoes the product speak positively about your business? If you see yourself as a master of innovation, then you might want to choose a product that is creatively thought out, such as a mouse mat. If you see yourself as more conventional then you might want to choose a more traditional product, such as a notebook.

If you are looking to convey a long and complicated message, then is the product you have chosen large enough to carry it. If you choose a coaster for example, then it can carry a lengthy message on it, but if you choose a pen then the text would have to be very small and narrow. Most businesses decide to use products that only bare their logo however and maybe their contact details too.

A gift that will stand the test of time
Will your product last? To maximise on the opportunities that promotional merchandise affords, you will want something that lasts a significant period of time, rather than until the person gets back to the office. A pen is refillable and a mouse mat is reusable, but a notepad can be used quickly and is thrown away.

There is a lot to think about when you choose your promotional material, but hopefully these simple questions will help to get you thinking about what will work best and avoid you spending a lot of money on a bulk order of a product that is useless and has no effect on increasing your client base and brand awareness.